Person with knowledge of deal: Suns, Bledsoe agree on 5-year, $70 million contract

FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2013, file photo, Phoenix Suns' Eric Bledsoe (2) passes against the Sacramento Kings during an NBA basketball game in Phoenix. A person with knowledge of the deal says the Suns and Bledsoe have reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million contract. The person spoke Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014, on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been officially announced. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
(The Associated Press)

A person with knowledge of the deal says the Phoenix Suns and Eric Bledsoe have reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million contract.

The person spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been officially announced.

The deal is considerably more than the four-year, $48 million the Suns initially offered but well below the five-year, $80 million-plus maximum contract Bledsoe sought as a restricted free agent.

The sides didn't budge in their negotiations until talks finally progressed in the last few days.

The Suns see Bledsoe as a critical part of their double point-guard system. He missed much of last season after undergoing his second surgery to repair a meniscus in his right knee.